KANSAS CITY, MO -- The Kansas City Royals will hold an online Opening Day Ticket Opportunity program to give fans the chance to secure Opening Day tickets for the 2009 Royals home opener against the New York Yankees and the Grand Re-Opening of Kauffman Stadium on Friday, April 10. Game time is set for 3:10 p.m.

To be eligible for the Opening Day ticket opportunity, fans must register online at royals.com between Monday, Feb. 2 at noon CT and Monday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. CT. A random drawing for the opportunity to purchase up to two (2) tickets to Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium will be on March 4. Winners will be notified by Thursday, March 5 via the email address submitted on the registration form. Those applicants whose names are selected will then have an opportunity to purchase 2009 Opening Day tickets at a date and time to be indicated in the winning email. As an added benefit, all fans that register for the Opening Day ticket opportunity will have the chance to purchase tickets to any other 2009 Royals home games prior to the general public through a special presale, which will take place on March 5 on royals.com.

"As we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Royals and the Grand Re-Opening of Kauffman Stadium in 2009, we want as many fans as possible to have the opportunity to purchase Opening Day tickets," said Mark Tilson, Royals Vice President-Sales and Marketing. "Opening Day is always special in Kansas City and there is even more anticipation this year as fans get ready to celebrate a brand new Stadium and 40 years of Royals Baseball."

Fans can also guarantee themselves Opening Day tickets by purchasing a Full Season, Half Season or 21-game season ticket plan. Season ticket packages start at just $168 per seat and are currently available online at royals.com and by calling (816) 504-4040.

Royals single-game tickets for all 2009 regular season games, including a limited number of Opening Day tickets, go on sale Saturday, March 7 at 9 a.m. CT. Tickets will be available online at royals.com, by phone at 1-800-6ROYALS, at metro area Hy-Vee stores and at the Kauffman Stadium ticket windows. Opening Day tickets will not be available for purchase at Hy-Vee locations.

For the second straight year, the Royals will open their home schedule with three games against the Yankees. In 2008, Kansas City posted a 5-2 victory over the Yankees on Opening Day and took two of the three games in the series. The Royals close out their first homestand of 2009 with a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians, April 13-15.